small home scale threshing machines

I have to admit that my experience with threshing is almost entirely with a combine. Because of my concerns around threshing on a small scale, I've always avoided planting grains for myself, but this seems like it has a lot of potential.

"the qualities of these bacteria, like the heat of the sun, electricity, or the qualities of metals, are part of the storehouse of knowledge of all men. They are manifestations of the laws of nature, free to all men and reserved exclusively to none." SCOTUS, Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kale Inoculant Co.

I would think there would be a number of ways of threshing small grains, on a home scale,

one if you have cut it and put in to bundles, one I would think could use a hammer mill with the speed reduced to about 800 RPM, and change out the screen to no screen or a bar screen, and have the bottom open,

I have seen pictures of China with a machine what looks like a combine cylinder, and a bar in front of it one just put the shock on the bar and put the heads in to the rotating cylinder,

and then the last method would be a stripper type head, made to be used or pulled with a lawntractor, (look up grass seed harvester),

here is the one I made for grass seed, but I am sure it would work on wheat and other small grains,

the heart of the machine is the string trimmer string and it rotates and throws the seed over into the box behind it, and there is a screen on the box to let the air out,

just for the sake of discussion, what would you be willing to pay for a small plot harvester?

Say some thing 2 to 3 foot wide and either self propelled like a lawn mower or being able to be pulled with a small lawn type tractor, or ATV, the unit would be most likely powered by a small gas motor, of 3 to 5 hp.

What I am thinking would not not clean it, but just take the seed and some chaff, from the wheat straw/stock, and would be able to be used on most small grains,

one would need to winnow it or have a small fanning mill to clean the chaff out of the wheat or grain,

Birdman wrote:just for the sake of discussion, what would you be willing to pay for a small plot harvester?

It sounds like you'd be competing with the grass seed harvester that Birdman mentioned.

Birdman wrote:a stripper type head...string trimmer string...rotates and throws the seed over into the box behind it, and there is a screen on the box to let the air out

That's such an elegant design! Does it drive the air all on its own? I imagine some sort of obstacle to air at the bottom of the string's path would make it function like a constant-volume pump.

barefooter wrote:Don't forget about bicycle power.

Neat! That made me imagine a harvester tricycle, with a string trimmer bar (as in the grass seed harvester discussed here) geared high relative to the pedals, and the drive wheel geared low. The threshing bar would sit in front of the front wheels, and be just a little wider than them, with grain collected about even with the front axle.

Is it possible to put one free-wheeling gear (i.e., "neutral&quot on a bike gear cassette? That would make such a trike easier to transport under its own power. A few gears on the drive train, and two plus neutral on the threshing bar, would make for a fairly capable little vehicle.

Joel Hollingsworth wrote: Is it possible to put one free-wheeling gear (i.e., "neutral&quot on a bike gear cassette? That would make such a trike easier to transport under its own power. A few gears on the drive train, and two plus neutral on the threshing bar, would make for a fairly capable little vehicle.

sounds like a difficult bit of wrenching. might be easier to add a step from a bicycle cog to a belt pulley and engage the bar with a tensioner. the old chain-driven corn planters I've worked on disengage with a pretty simple mechanism, too, so there are other options if spare parts are available or if fabrication is an option.

seems like an automotive serpentine belt would carry enough power with less loss than a bicycle chain you could use modified rear wheel hub to drive the belt giving you 5-7 speeds and then either drive the axle or a jack-shaft that would them power both the axle and the threshing mechanism

hope that made sense I can see it in my head but don't want to try drawing it out

oh and spring tensioners on all the belts would allow real quick belt changes thus a mode change in seconds

Joel Hollingsworth
pollinator

Joined: Jul 01, 2009
Posts: 2103
Location: Oakland, CA

posted Sep 13, 2010 18:02:40

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*blinks*

I'm used to being the most mechanically-inclined one in the room. I guess I've spent too long in the city.

That sounds like a better design than I had thought of. Belts would make for an easier change/removal of the string-trimmer threshing bar, if you wanted to use it for cargo, or devised some other useful attachment like a flail mower.

Brice Moss

Joined: Jul 28, 2010
Posts: 700
Location: rainier OR

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posted Sep 14, 2010 12:13:58

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Joel Hollingsworth wrote: *blinks*

I'm used to being the most mechanically-inclined one in the room. I guess I've spent too long in the city.

That sounds like a better design than I had thought of. Belts would make for an easier change/removal of the string-trimmer threshing bar, if you wanted to use it for cargo, or devised some other useful attachment like a flail mower.

gee thanks I guess all the years I've spent spinning wrenches ain't a waste when I really think about it

farm show, vol 34, no 2 shows a foot powered thresher made by a guy in Tennessee for $650. It has a foot treadle, an enclosed threshing reel, and a winnowing screen. As you pump your feet, the reel turns and the screen shakes.

for now i am using a pillow case and a wooden branch to whack it with.

then to winnow i either do it by hand in a huge woven basket. or i made one of these.http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/oilpress.html the winnower is half way down the page. it works great for all kinds of seeds because you can adjust the air flow for heavier or lighter seed.

The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings. - Masanobu Fukuoka

‘So much has been destroyed I have cast my lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world.’ -Adrienne Rich

Peter Ingot

Joined: Sep 06, 2011
Posts: 73

posted Sep 11, 2011 19:50:59

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The horse method looks fun but I think could put a lot of grit in the grain. The video didn't play to the end so I didn't see how they cleaned it up.Pics of my washin g machine /threshing machine below

thresher2.JPG

Eric Thomas

Joined: Mar 19, 2011
Posts: 58
Location: Northeast Oklahoma, Zone 6b,

posted Sep 12, 2011 17:34:34

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It thought it was a fun way to demonstrate what people did (and do) when faced with a job that has to get done and with what limited resources they have on hand. Kind of like what most of us face every day. Loved the music too, if I have to work hard in the hot sun that's the soundtrack I want in my head!

My dad built us a thresher that can thresh rice and other grains for something like 50 bucks. It can be hooked up to a bike or a small motor. The plans aren't up on the internet yet but he say he was going to put them up soon. You can watch a video of it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKDlHiet3ZQ. It doesn't show it threshing in the video because we didn't have any grain on stalks at the time so its just being used as a fly wheel for the bike powered huller. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0FLVNeVgik In this one he talks about building it at around 6 mins I think.

paul wheaton wrote:Anybody done much threshing by hand? What did you find was the easiest way?

I've threshed beans by hand, which is different from grain, but somewhat related. Basically, you pull the plants when they die and hang them upside down to dry. Then you hold them by the roots and smash them into the inside wall of a trash can or whatever container you have handy. Winnow with a fan, the wind, or a seed sorter. My understanding is that this works fine for up to 1/3 acre. Personally, I've done this only for 2 x 50' rows.

For grain, you cut and shock it earlier than you would combine it. Handling the plants will knock the seeds off if you do this too late. Then thresh, winnow, screen, store, check, grind, age, and bake

Suzy Bean wrote:Farm Show, vol 34, no 2 shows a foot powered thresher made by a guy in Tennessee for $650. It has a foot treadle, an enclosed threshing reel, and a winnowing screen. As you pump your feet, the reel turns and the screen shakes.

In addition, there's a guy who has started importing a self-propelled "mini-combine" from China, which he is selling for $5,700 new. His name is Eddie Qi, and I've spoken with him. Website: http://www.eqmachinery.com/

I would love a smallholder's combine attachment for a BCS walk-behind, and I bet there'd be a market it for it if you could get it down to $3-4k.

Agricultural Lead for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, MN

K Nelfson wrote: ...For grain, you cut and shock it earlier than you would combine it. Handling the plants will knock the seeds off if you do this too late. Then thresh, winnow, screen, store, check, grind, age, and bake